"Though this market is still primarily driven by government incentives, distributed solar PV will continue its steady march toward grid parity in major markets over the next few years."

Despite the proven effectiveness of solar PV, feed-in tariffs are being repealed in countries all around the world - even right here in Australia.

One example of this close to home is the changes to Queensland's solar feed-in tariff and recommendations made by the Queensland Competition Authority to reduce its benefits to users.

Navigant Research reassuringly suggests that such reductions in financial incentives for going solar will drive the solar PV industry to stand on its own feet and merits, without government support.

The overall global solar PV market contracted slightly in 2012 as big players such as Italy and Germany had reduced activity, but growth continued in other parts of the world, especially the up and coming solar nations such as Japan in the Asia-Pacific region.